Saturday, March 20, 2010

Serious Woo on the BBC

Humans do seem to feel a sense of kinship with dolphins, intelligent, playful, talkative creatures that they are. And separate research shows people feel the benefit from getting up close and personal with dolphins, says Dr Dobbs.

No, not that, what is about to follow. Now, there are no quotes here - unlike other bits in the article, so I don't know whether this is Dr Dobbs (PhD not MD but FRSM) or Elizabeth Diffin who is guilty but:

This is because dolphins are thought to emanate "chi" - the essential life force in Chinese medicine - and the basis of various therapies for clinical depression, autism and brain damage.

So dolphins are good for us because they emanate eastern woo - which can cure things? Don't these people have editors to stop them fitting their fantasy theories in to the middle of otherwise credible articles? Or, if that is Dr Dobbs opinion (and there are plenty of MDs who believe - or claim to believe - in various sorts of woo, so he wouldn't be unique), couldn't they have got a direct quote? Journalism, supposedly trained!

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A classical liberal & modern libertarian, economically laissez faire, and a governmental minimalist. Somewhat surprised to find this puts me way to the right of Chingis Khan.
Really, really pissed off at the endemic stupidity of the British governing cliques. Sometimes lets his potty mouth get the better of him.